The rainbow academic nation

During the apartheid era, higher education, like most elements of South African society, was divided along racial lines.

Now, less than 10 years after the country's first open elections, white students account for less than half of the enrolments at institutions that were once exclusively white.

But successful integration has brought fresh problems. Many historically black institutions are finding it difficult to boost their limited research capabilities, and merger plans are proving far from popular with historically black and historically white institutions alike.